1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to skates.
More specifically, the invention relates to hockey skates.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hockey skates, as used today, are made up of a frame of die-stamped sheet metal components and a blade which is die-stamped to the desired contour from one-eighth inch nickel chrome sheet material. In making the frame, pedestals are spot-welded to sole plates and to a blade carrying tube. The blade is spot-welded to the tubular section of the frame and a front tang on the blade riveted to two lugs on the front sole plate. The blade and the tube are sweated together with the help of lead solder to give greater holding power.
This construction suffers from several disadvantages. For example, the fact that the frame is made from a number of sheet metal components makes it difficult to maintain a tolerance. This results in a high proportion of rejects and raises the cost. The assembly also involves heat treating the metal to give it greater strength. Another problem is in the finishing of the sides of the stamped blade. This is done by making a single pass along the length of the blade with a buffing apparatus. This also has the undesirable effect of rolling over the working edge of the skate. It is not possible to buff the sides of the blade in the up and down direction because of the presence of the frame. A further disadvantage is that since the blade is permanently fixed to the frame, if anything happens to the blade, the whole skate must be rejected.